Life-saving suit.



F. SCHLACHTER.

LIFE SAViNG SUIT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, I914 IatntedSept. 12, 1916 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. SCHLACHTER.

LIFE SAVING SUIT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. mm

1 ,1 97,670. Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK SCHLACHTER, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

LIFE-SAVING SUIT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application filed April 15, 1914. Serial No. 832,029.

. fication.

This invention relates to life saving suits designed for the purposeof saving persons at sea, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a flexible, rubber, water-proof suit for enveloping the entire person and providing means whereby the suit. may be inflated for rendering the suit sufliciently buoyant to hold up the person wearing the suit in the water, and which will be provided with a cover for the head having sight openings for the eyes and provided with valves for permitting the person to breathe without admitting water. Another object of the invention is to provide a life saving suit which will be provided with fastening devices which will prevent the entrance of water'to the interior of the suit and to provide means whereby the suit may be sufficiently inflated to sustain the weight of the person on the surface of the water, said suit having a head piece formed integral with the body portion and provided with valves connected with the nostrils and permitting the person to breathe freely and at the same time prevent the ingress of water,

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the body portion, arm and a portion of the lower part of a life saving suit made in accordance with this invention, and shown broken away above the waist, Fig. 2 is the head portion or helmet shown in front elevation and broken away at the bottom, Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the lower portion for covering the legs and feet of the suit, Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the entire suit in place on a person, Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of one of the openings and the manner of rendering th opening water-proof by means of an inner bellows portion, Fig. 6 is a view of the nostril valves and connections, Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of one of the adjustable clasp members, and Fig. 8 is a similar view of the other member of the clasp.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a life saving suit as a whole,

said suit being made up of comparatively light water-proof material, like rubber cloth, and provided with an enlarged body portion 1, said body portion comprising inner and outer walls 2 and 3. Positioned within the body portion is an air sack designated 2, said air sack having a plurality of spaced coil springs located therein designated as 3, said springs adapted to be extended to admit air sufficient to render the device buoyant enough to support a person in water. Similar springs 3 are positioned in the sleeves of the garment, and formed on the sleeves are gloves 9. It is to be noted that the distance between thearm pit 10 and the shoulder 11 is suflicient to permit the arms to be withdrawn from the sleeve and disposed entirely within the body portion of the suit. The front portion of the suit is provided with a series of clasps for holding the parts together, the inner wall of the suit provided with hooks and eyes being generally indicated by the numeral l2 and the clasps by the numeral 13.

Inside the suit where the hooks and eyes are in clasped relation there is an enlarged bellows portion 14, which maybe formed integral with the air sack or as a separate piece shown in Fig. 5 which prevents the entrance of water even during the operation of connecting the eyes and clasps. The neck portion 15 may be gathered and secured around the neck by means of'a tape or drawstring 16. i

The air sack is provided with an inner and an outer wall and intermediate springs,

and a suitablecheck' valve is used in the air sack. The garment is placed upon the person by opening the garment at the'neck and after the life savingsuit has been drawn up, the neck strings 16 are brought together and tied. Owing to the action of the springs, the air sack is self inflatable.

The trouser legs 17 are formed integral with the body portion of the garment and may be provided with a draw-string or tape 18 at the waist line, and by taking up the length of the legs of the trousers draw cord's 19 are provided which permit an adjustment to the length of the wearer and permitting the overhanging portions 20, thus providing a suit that can be worn by per- 7 head portion or hood 24 is provided with a v is-a suitable nipple andcheckvalve 2'1 which i depending cape portion and a drawstring 26. In the upper end of the hood 9A is normally open when the' 'pe'rson is in an upright position. .The sight openings 28 may either have 'glziss or transparent cellu loid' disks fitted therein. The nostril -valves are connected to a, plate29,- and comprise the tubular portions "30, the outerends of which are flared and'provided withlmll valves31 'whichjjare sufiicientlyhuoyant to seat themselves against the inner walls 3'3 in case water shouldenter the open outer ends of the valvecasir'i'g 30., A wire gauze closure 33 is provided attheou'ter end of the C215 ing-30.

The claspfor holding the frontopening of the gnrment'together comprises a female member 31L having ratchet teeth 35 and a base member 36 adapted to be secured through suitable openings 37 -to the garment, Iwhile the ionic i'nember 38 is pro vided with a ratchet ihembe'r which engages the ratchet teeth and ern'uts adjustment ;inw .1rd"and.outward tov lock the two members-off the clasp together. A finger hold IO "is pri'n -id-edgjfor movi'ng the: mzrle ing devicesrfor. connecting it 'to- .'the gar with-this invention maybe quickly applied vthe. suit islentirely protected zi'gainst the ingress ('it'fw nber'. and" is permittedfio brez the with ease nif-"the water should be drawn entirely-over be in the wider-fore certain length of time.

The suit can. be perked ,within a comparatively'fsrua'll space i'hen' not required for i 7 use, "und m n'be'quirkly put upon the person when o(':casio| r' requires." I

The checkvalve at 27 will close when the person is lying tint .onthe water or in case of a dive. A I

\ anousclmnges mgly be made in the de-' -.'the suit, .springslocnted hisrh ezul, ore-ven if he shouldtails ofconstruction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A life saving suit-made of impervious material and having a neckopening of s'ufiicientsize to peimitJhe-person to enter the suit, draw-strings for'the'neck openiifggen. air sack inclosed within the "suit and provided with expanding springs located within the airsack for inflating the same, and 6 a helmet provided 'with a hood having gathering strings connected to they-neck portion, and provided with valves for the nos: trils and sight openingsfor the eyes. y

2. A lifesaving suitadapted to envelop 0 the entire body and made o f aisingle piece provided with "opening and dm-w. strings, a helmet having. a. depending cape provided with draw strings for engagement around the neekQSaidhelmet having" nostril 7 5 valves comprising tubular portions; ball valves and .segits therefor at; the outer .end of said tubularv portions, draw-strings for the waist line,'dra 'w'-str i ngs for the trouser portions at flush-nee, an inflatable "air szick, $0 springs locate}! between the innerand outer \Walls of Saki-sack and. fastnings fon the frontportion of the bodfy ofpthegarm'ent,

3. A life solving-shit comprising-f iinYinand an enlarged neclri vpeni-ng,said' arm-portions permitting the removal of the arms ofjthekvearer therefron'l mi n'ir. sack withini "thin .s'aid siifk,

saidspringsrendering" iihle; z ind a detn'chz'tblel n" cope and draw string ter tight connection .betw garment 'and' the'cape' of the-helmet.

4. A life saying suit including an'z'iir9 sack, springs locategl in" the suclcto Irender I the same self infl'atfible 5. A life saving suitomprisinginner and outer walls, an air sack'locat'ed between said walls. springs'p'ositioned between thewalls of the air sack for renderingthe samese lf inflatable. i T

In testimony whereof I affix my signature neprio'qided'wi for; forming -a; -wn

in presence of two-witnesses, ,v FREDERICK YVitnesses: l

AnoLr Scnucm,

Rossrnn GIBBON$;

een the neck 'ofthe I I I 

